The Los Angeles City Council file on single-use carryout bags dates back to 2004. Nine years later, the Council has tentatively approved a 10-cent per-bag tax on the use of the disposable bags. Final approval will come after a second vote, but the first votes’ 11-1 majority would predict an easy final passage.
Now, the state’s largest city is on the brink of adopting a single-use bag ban as a way to preempt the millions of dollars spent each year to control litter and “plastic-bag blight.” The ban would impact any retail business with more than $2 million in annual sales, a store greater than 10,000 square feet, or any retail establishment that engages in the sale of limited line of goods.
Under the ban, plastic bags would disappear entirely, except for plastic-based reusable bags. Reusable paper bags could be provided to customers, but the stores would charge $.10 per bag. That money would be kept by the stores themselves to offset the cost of compliance.
Each quarter, stores would have to report the total number of bags provided to customers, as well as the total amount of money collected.